Residents in regional communities fighting the bottled water industry for groundwater

As the drought bites deeper, residents in a growing number of rural communities are fighting to stop local groundwater being taken to satisfy Australia's thirst for bottled water.

Tanya Bregnesdal's bore is running low for the first
time since it was put down more than 20 years ago.

At Tamborine Mountain in Queensland's Gold Coast hinterland, some locals are angry that bore water supplies are being used to supply bottled water companies. 

"We watch the water tankers go up and down the road," local Tanya Bregnsdal said.

She believes the bottled water industry is to blame for her bore running dry.

Read the ABC News story by Jess Davis and Rachel Carbonell - “Residents in regional communities fighting the bottled water industry for groundwater.”

Adani coal mine poses 'alarming' risk to sacred wetlands, traditional owners say

Traditional owners who are fighting the Adani mine in central Queensland say they welcome scientists' concerns about impacts on the Doongmabulla Springs but do not trust any government to ensure the miner protects their sacred wetlands.

Little Moses springs and its surrounds is
about 7 kilometres from the mine site.

The ABC this week became the first media organisation to visit the remote springs complex — one of the world's last unspoiled desert oases — which are at the centre of a controversial Morrison Government decision that thrust Adani forward as a federal election issue.

The trip to the nationally important wetlands was at the invitation of a determined group of mine opponents within the Wangan and Jagalingou (W&J) people, who have vowed to take their fight all the way to The Hague.

Read the ABC News story by Josh Robertson - “Adani coal mine poses 'alarming' risk to sacred wetlands, traditional owners say.”

(Asked at the April gathering of Shepparton’s Beneath the Wisteria about, Nicholls candidate and Murray electorate incumbent, Damian Drum, said the Adani mine had the support of Australia’s indigenous people, but obviously he was handling the truth rather loosely - Robert McLean)

Airstrip used in firefighting threatened by proposed wind farm

A south-west Victorian airport instrumental in fighting the St Patrick's Day bushfires could be forced to close if a proposed wind farm is approved by the state planning minister.

The location of the proposed wind turbines drawn on the Cobden airport window.

The $100 million Naroghid Wind Farm project plans to build 12 wind turbines on the outskirts of Cobden, seven kilometres south-east of Camperdown.

According to those who run the airstrip, the location is a problem.

Part of the farm's proposed site borders the northern edge of the Cobden Airport, with four of the 180-metre-high towers to be built within kilometres of the start of the runway.

Read the ABC Rural News story - “Airstrip used in firefighting threatened by proposed wind farm.”

How Much Does Climate Change Cost? Try $1.5 Trillion (and Counting)

The Trump administration, and its allies in Congress, are fighting a losing war. They continue to press forward for the development of oil, gas, and coal when the rest of the world understands the implication of that folly. Global warming is the most pressing issue for our time. Period.

The thing is governments really have two choices when it comes to managing the impact on its people from global warming: spend money on trying to reduce the problem or spend money on cleaning up the catastrophes.

Firefighters clear debris from a mudslide in Los Angeles,
California on January 9, 2018. The deadly rain storm claimed
 the lives of 13 people in Santa Barbara County. Flash
flooding also occurred in the recently burned areas
of Ventura and Los Angeles counties.

The Trump administration is on the hook for the catastrophe. A report released Monday by The National Centers for Environmental Information pegged the total cost this year at $1.5 trillion, including estimates for Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. (And that doesn’t even begin to count the human toll, lost lives, lost jobs, lost opportunity.)

I witnessed firsthand the impact of Hurricane Maria on the island of Dominica last month. We keep hearing stories about the power grid being down (similar to Puerto Rico) and you think, Why? It’s been months. Why aren’t the lights on? Then you see nearly every electrical pole on the island sideways. The entire grid needs to be rebuilt (or better, rethought) and that’s decades of infrastructure. So the figure of $1.5 trillion is far short of what will be needed. Nearly every electrical line, every other house, the damage was so widespread it’s impossible to overstate. And that’s just one island. Multiple the effect across the region. The planet.

Read Mark Trahant’s story on Yes! Magazine - “How Much Does Climate Change Cost? Try $1.5 Trillion (and Counting).”